


Come Hang Out (Cause You’re Out of Your Mind)

by pinkpolkadots



Series: kevintines <3 [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Advice, Friendship, Kevintines, M/M, Misunderstandings, protective friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 20:06:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17873987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkpolkadots/pseuds/pinkpolkadots
Summary: Sometimes Kevin forgets that it doesn’t have to be a complete emergency for his friends to need him. Or the five times Kevin assumed the worst and the time his friends did.





	Come Hang Out (Cause You’re Out of Your Mind)

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m now a couple days behind but I’m hoping to catch up tonight and tomorrow! Happy Kevintines guys!

**_one_ **

Kevin woke to the sound of his phone ringing.

Kevin rolled over and groaned when he glanced at the clock on his bedside table and realized it was 3:17 am. He figured it was Nicky, having probably locked himself out. Andrew and Neil had disappeared for the weekend, likely to the house in Columbia. That left Nicky and Kevin in the dorm.

Nicky probably woke up about an hour or so ago craving fast food, ran to the 24-hour Taco Bell around the corner, and got home to realize he’d forgotten his keys. Kevin had gotten up to pee about half an hour ago and assumed they’d forgotten to lock the door and had done so before heading back to bed.

Then Kevin saw his phone screen and panicked picking up in a hurry.

“Jean,” he breathed. “Are you okay?”

Kevin is already on his feet trying to grab his jacket. He’s pretty sure Matt will have no problem with him borrowing the truck for the night. It would typically take just over seven hours to drive to USC. That was if that was where Jean was right now, but if he were he’d be safe. What if Jean was somewhere else?

Riko was dead but the thought of the nest still sent Kevin spiralling.

“Where are you?”

“I’m good, I’m just at the USC court. Are  _you_ okay? You sound out of breath,” Jean observed.

It took Kevin a second to process Jean’s calm tone. “You called me before dawn on a Tuesday, I thought something was wrong. Wait, did you say you were on the court right now?”

“Yeah, I needed to get away from prying ears,” Jean confessed. Kevin realized that meant that something may still be wrong. “What do you think it means when someone calls you ‘sweetheart’?”

“Excuse me?” Kevin sputtered as he sat back down on the edge of his bed.

He could hear Jean sighing on the other end of the line. “Relax. I’m not calling you sweetheart, I’m asking what it means when somebody else calls _me_ sweetheart.”

“What the fuck, Jean?”

“Will you just tell me please?” Jean asked sounding impatient.

It was three o’clock in the goddamn morning and Kevin didn’t understand why Jean was the one that got to be irritable when he was the one who called in the first place. “Why are you even asking me?”

“Cause Renee has an exam in the morning and you’re my only other friend who isn’t a Trojan. So I trust you to keep this conversation between us,” Jean explained.

 _Friend._ Kevin had never really thought about it, but he’d just been planning to drive seven hours because he received a call at an odd time and Jean might have needed him. He guessed that did mean they qualified as friends.

In the nest, the two had relied on each other to survive. People weren’t friends at the nest, being friends made you vulnerable. Relationships, even platonic ones, were frowned upon and Riko wasn’t afraid to punish the people you cared about if he thought it’d hurt you too.

_They weren’t in the nest anymore though._

“... Okay, I’m going to need context though,” Kevin said.

“I had this assignment in my philosophy class, and I’d been really stressed about it. Philosophy requires so much reading between the lines, and you know that’s easier for me in French, so I got all my sources in French but then I was worried that when I wrote my essay in English a few of my arguments may get lost in translation-”

“You speak perfect English Jean,” Kevin assured him.

“Thank you, but I still had half the team read it over to make sure it was right. Then my prof posted the marks and it turns out I got the highest mark in the class-”

“That’s awesome Jean, congrats!”

“Thanks, but could you please let me finish my story?” Jean asked with a soft laugh. “So Jeremy was with me when the grades were posted and he said ‘I knew you’d do great sweetheart, you’re one of the hardest working people I know.’”

“He likes you,” Kevin concluded.

“You can’t know that,” Jean urged. “He’s probably using pet names with half the team. He’s just like that, I’m probably reading too much into things.”

“Jean, he _likes_ you.”

Kevin couldn’t see his friend on the other end of the call but he knew the other well enough that he was sure Jean had scrunched up his nose and shook his head when the French boy said, “no. You’re not listening to me.”

“This doesn’t even have anything to do with him calling you sweetheart, which is domestic as shit, and everything to do with the fact that I follow Jeremy on Instagram,” Kevin could hear that Jean was about to start arguing. Kevin just soldiered on not giving Jean time to cut in. “No, Jean, that boy has more photos of you than himself on his account. That one of you in his jacket, with his name and number on it, is particularly cute. Honestly, I thought you guys were already dating.”

“Really?” Jean asked. “Cause we’re going out to grab dinner tomorrow and I was thinking of asking him out.”

“You guys are going out to dinner together tomorrow?” Kevin asked as pieces started to fall into place.

“Yeah.”

“Alone?” Kevin pushed.

“Yeah, obviously.”

Kevin shook his head to himself before he asked his next question. “Is that something you two do often?”

“Yeah, I mean, sometimes it’s not dinner. We went skating a couple of times last month, or sometimes we stay in and watch movies. We went hiking a couple of times too.”

Jean was an idiot. “Have you ever kissed him?”

“Yeah, all the time. I mean he kissed me first, do you think that means he’s more likely to say yes when I ask? What’s your point, Kevin?”

“You’re not in the nest anymore, when the person you make out within your free time goes out on dates with you, calls you sweetheart, and is Jeremy _fucking_ Knox you’re _already_ dating.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a long time.

“Holy shit, Kevin! I have a boyfriend, Jeremy Knox is _my_ boyfriend Jean sounded awestruck.  

“I know Jean.”

“I think we’ve been dating for four months then, what’s a good anniversary gift?” Jean asked.

Kevin flopped back on his bed laughing. “Get some sleep, Jean.”

“Shit, its four in the morning. Okay, but you’re helping me brainstorm tomorrow night!”

“Okay, good night.”

“Goodnight Kevin.”

**_two_ **

“Kevin!” Neil yelled from the washroom after a distinct crashing sound.

Kevin rushed into the washroom without a second thought. Convinced that Neil had slipped and broken something. They were still three months away from their final championship match, but despite that, if Neil wasn’t playing in games the Moriyama would likely come around asking questions.

“Neil what happened-”

Kevin stopped in his tracks when he made it through the doors and the scene in front of him sunk in.

Allison, Nicky, and Neil were all standing in the small dorm’s washroom. Allison was holding what looked like eyelashes and Nicky was scrambling to pick up what looked like scattered make up from a bag he dropped. There were two other bags, packed with things Kevin only recognized vaguely, mainly from having to cover up bruises and things for press appearances when he was a raven.

“Perfect,” Allison said waving Kevin to her side in the already packed room. “I need you to hand me things cause Nicky just dropped my bag and probably shattered my good blush and highlighter.”

“We both know you have spares in the bag on the counter,” Nicky argued.

“Not the point,” Allison snapped.

Neil rolled his eyes. “Please Kevin, I can’t listen to them bicker anymore.”

Kevin nodded and made his way to Allison’s side. “What’s the occasion?” Kevin asked looking from Allison with her wide selection of makeup to Neil who sat on the counter next to the other makeup bags.

“It’s Neil and Andrew’s one year anniversary,” Nicky squealed excitedly.

“It is not,” Neil grumbled.

Allision laughed. “He says that but he and Andrew kissed for the first time a year ago today, and the fact that they both kept track of that is adorable.”

“He might not have even realized,” Neil argued. “It could just be a coincidence that we’re going out tonight.”

“Neil, honey, Andrew talked to Renee about it cause he wanted to make it special. He knows,” Allison said. Neil got really quiet after that, seemingly lost in thought. “Kevin hand me the lash glue.”

Kevin did as he was asked. He watched as Allison put glue on the lashes and then leaned in to set them in place. Neil flinched back. Allison sighed.

”Kevin, would you please distract him?” Allison asked.

“What?”

”He’s stressing about the lashes and he needs a distraction. Talk to him,” Allison explained.

”I’m right here,” Neil reminded them sounding unimpressed.

”Did you watch USC’s game last night?” Kevin asked.

”Like you need to ask,” Neil said with a huff. “Jean seems to be playing really well with the team, Jeremy is an excellent captain and it shows.”

”No exy talk,” Nicky interrupted. “I hear that around the dorm too often as it is.”

”Did you know Jean and Jeremy are dating?” Kevin asked.

”Everyone knows that,” Allison said with a roll of her eyes.

Kevin laughed. “Did you know that Jean didn’t until last month?” 

“No way! And I thought these two were clueless,” Nicky said with a gesture to Neil and an implied Andrew.

”Okay now keep your eyes closed for a second while it dries,” Allison told Neil.

Everyone continued chatting as Allison did Neil’s make up. When Kevin asked about it, Nicky told him all about how Neil had gone to Allison in a panic since Andrew tended to pick out outfits for Neil when the pair wen out. Neil wanted to look good for the blond tonight, put in extra effort as a surprise. The three had gone shopping for an outfit earlier today. Neil also complained that he didn’t realize that the process involved him wearing lashes that made it: ‘impossible for him to open his eyes.’

Nicky just told Neil to stop being a baby and Allison promised Neil he’d thank her when he saw the finished look. As she worked Allison would also stop to ask Kevin his opinion on the thing, Nicky was also sharing his own opinions completely unprompted.  

When all her work was done Allison turned Neil to the mirror and Neil just stared silently. All in all, Allison hadn’t overdone it. The lashes gave Neil a dramatic look, she’d also cleaned up his eyebrows and put the smallest bit of highlighter on so that he glowed just a bit. His fingers traced his scars which were all left on display. “Why?” he asked as he pressed his fingers to cover his cheek and then took it way to compare.

Kevin laid a hand on Neil’s shoulder. “He’ll like it, you look good,” Kevin assured Neil.

Neil looked up at Kevin unsure. “What if he doesn’t, what if he thinks it’s too much? Or the scars.”

Kevin shook his head. “He’s probably going to be speechless for a solid five minutes, then he’s going to pretend it’s not a big deal but he’ll be staring all night,” Kevin assured him. “And he’s seen your scars, their apart of you, he’d probably be upset if you covered them up. Plus if anyone every insulted this look Allison would kick their ass and Matt would help.”

That made Neil smile.

Allison assured Neil that Kevin was right. Then in an unexpected turn of events, Neil pulls all of them into a group hug. “Thanks guys, I really appreciate this.”

“If you dare cry and ruin my hard work, I’ll make sure you regret it,” Allison declared but she sounds emotional and Nicky is sniffling.

**_three_ **

_be at the court at 8 pm_

The note was not signed by anyone and Kevin was feeling cautiously skeptical. It was also written in mismatched cut out magazine letters like some odd crime drama. The note had been left on top of his exy bag in the corner of his room and usually, it was Kevin trying to convince one of his teammates to go to the court not the other way around.

This raised the question; was it even one of his teammates?

It wouldn’t have been the first time a fox had received cryptic messages from an outsider, not that Neil had been forthcoming about any of the info about the countdown initially. Kevin knew better than to make the same mistake, hopefully, everyone had learned from Neil’s experiences last year.

Kevin borrowed Matt’s truck and visited his Wymack, his dad, at his apartment.

Kevin was surprised to see Dan there when a surprised Wymack let him in. It was obvious that the two had been talking about something they didn’t want Kevin to know about because the room was silent now.

Kevin was suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable and he fidgeted for a bit before finally clearing his throat and speaking. “I think someone is coming after us again,” Kevin said us because everyone knew now that when you came for one member of the team you came for all of them.

Wymack looked very serious as he pulled Kevin down to sit next to him on the couch and asked what had happened. “Well, I was in my room and found this unmarked note on my bag. I don’t know how anyone would have gotten into my room to put it there.”

Wymack looked like he was trying to keep a level head but Kevin could tell he was worried. “Can I see the note?” Wymack asked.

Kevin handed it over and Wymack sighed and turned to Dan who was looking at it from his other side.

“Um yeah, Kevin don’t worry no one is after you,” Dan assured him. “In my defense, I didn’t want to give him the job, but he volunteered and it caught me off guard.”

“Wait are you telling me that the whole team all got cryptic messages written in cut out magazine letters this morning?” Wymac asked turning to Dan slowly.

“... yes?” Dan offered, sounding very unsure.

“Kevin, to celebrate winning championships and the end of all of us upperclassmen playing for the foxes, Neil and I decided as co-captains to throw a party tonight. Wymack knows about it too, we asked permission and everything”

“So Neil left me a serial killer note?” Kevin clarified.

“No, that was Andrew. Neil and I agreed that we wanted it to be a surprise. Andrew and Matt were there helping us organize everything. Andrew said he wanted to be in charge of getting everyone there,” Dan explained.

At this point, Wymack had already pulled out his phone and was dialling Andrew.

“Tell me you only left Kevin a note … what do you mean, ‘you can’t say that’? … Stop sounding so pleased with yourself, how many magazines did you buy for this? ... Next time do arts and crafts on your own time, you are going to now properly invite all of your teammates.” Wymack hung up after that. With a shake of his head. Just as Kevin was about to ask if he could grab a snack before leaving, there was a pounding on the front door.

“Coach, coach! I think someone’s trying to kill me,” Nicky’s panicked voice called.

Wymack turned to Dan, “you can take this one, I’m going to grab snacks for tonight.”

Kevin was just glad that he wasn’t the only one who had been concerned enough to come asking for help.

**_four_ **

_From: Aaron Minyard_

_need your help_

It wouldn’t have been as weird a text from almost anyone else.

Aaron never texted Kevin though. When he did, he always used full grammar and punctuation. This was odd, Aaron hadn’t even capitalized the first word.

The last time Kevin had found Aaron after a moment of crisis there’d been a dead body. Kevin would rather not find one of those today.

_From: Kevin Day_

_Where are you?_

The next text he received gave him a room number. Kevin has never run across campus as quickly in his life.

Kevin burst through the door panting like a mad man. Except there was nothing decidedly strange about the room he was in, except maybe his presence. Kevin glanced around the room, and yes every pair of eyes was trained on him. At least 200 students were watching him.

“Mr. Day, will you be joining us for chemistry class today?” The professor asked when the silence continued to stretch.

He didn’t recognize the prof, but the exy team was big at their school and so it wasn’t odd that most strangers at Palmetto State knew his name.

“No … wrong room, sorry,” Kevin stammered before exiting the room in a rush.

Kevin waiting in the hall for the class to finish and when it did he found Aaron in the crowd of people leaving the room.

“What the hell was that, Kevin?” Aaron asked.

“You sent me that text,” Kevin pointed out.

Aaron looked beyond annoyed.

“That’s just because my wrist has been hurting since the game last night. I figured you’d know some weird home remedy to make it go away,” Aaron explained. “And if I brought it to Abby, she’d probably make it a big deal and the whole team would find out.”

“What’s wrong with the team finding out you hurt your wrist? Also, why didn’t you send that text with your usual perfect grammar?”

“I was in class, I was just trying to send the text quick,” Aaron said as he shot Kevin an unimpressed look. “And nothing is wrong with them finding out, but you’re my friend or whatever, plus you like helping with stuff like this. If it’s still bugging me tomorrow I’ll talk to Abby.”

“Okay, explain how it hurts to me,” Kevin said. He was already devising a wrist strengthening regimen in his head.

**_five_ **

Kevin woke up to someone knocking on his dorm room’s door. The knock was persistent and Kevin didn’t know what to think. Kevin crept out of his room and met Neil in the hall who was already holding his exy racket up like a weapon.

The pair walked up to the door and tried to check the peephole. Whoever it was, had covered the glass with their hand on the other side.

“Who is it,” Andrew asked loudly from behind them, clearly addressing whoever was on the other side. He looked at Kevin and Neil with utter disappointment.

“I’m not here to see you, Andrew,” the voice called back.

“Matt!” Neil exclaimed as he threw open the door placing his racket carefully to the side and barreled into an awaiting Matt’s arms. Dan stood at his side and she pulled Kevin into a quick hug before trading with Matt, who hugged Kevin just as eagerly as he’d hugged Neil.

“Merry Christmas!” The pair exclaimed.

“We brought presents,” Matt said lifting the bag beside him.

“Allison And Renee will get here in the morning but we wanted to surprise you guys,” Dan explained.

It was fun to have everyone back to celebrate together. Dan hadn’t mentioned that Nicky and Eric would also be coming back from Germany for a couple of days to see everyone. Nicky has offered to bring them all back to Germany with him for the holiday break but no one wanted to intrude on the couple’s time together.

Abby made a nice dinner for everyone at her house and they all exchanged gifts. It felt right.

**_plus one_ **

Kevin was in tears at Wymack’s kitchen table.

“Kevin, what’s wrong?” Wymack asked.

“I swear to god Kevin if anyone turned you down, they probably sent you the wrong letter by accident. When they figure it out they’re gonna be pissed that they missed the opportunity to work with Kevin Day,” Nicky assured him.

Kevin shook his head feeling overwhelmed. “Kevin, I don’t care if we need to knock out a few of a teams existing members to make room, you are getting into the team of your choice,” Neil assured him.

Kevin nodded. “I know,” Kevin said. Now he was smiling and crying. He was sure it was all very confusing to his teammates. “I got in everywhere.”

“Asshole, I was so worried,” Nicky said accusingly.

“Yeah and if you didn’t get in then no way Neil does. We’d never hear the end of it,” Aaron observed.

Kevin wasn’t really paying attention to the argument that resulted from that comment. He’d made it in. He was going to play Court on any team of his choice. He’d always known on some level that this would happen, but on another level, he’d always remember when he was told he wasn’t enough as a raven. He’d always remover the panic that’d flooded him when Riko had broken his hand and he thought for a second that he may never make it.

Kevin has made it though. This was what he was meant to do and he had people by his side cheering him on.


End file.
